Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Have had a 2003 Sweetwater, 20' & 60hp for 3 yrs now. I've always wanted the skinning since day 1 as we run on rivers and bigger lakes that can get the churn going. I find that 90% of time we have average of 8 people on board (sticker is 11), and am debating putting in 3rd toon to ensure front stays up & skinning...VS...incurring costs to upgrade to tri-toon, 24' 90-115 (I love the fuel economy of the 60 4stroke Yamaha tho) plus costs of license tax registration and headache of selling the old. We're in that grandparenting phase, family is growing, we do group camping trips on lakes with friends and I'm the only boat owner in the group, and am thinking we'll be 2 years away from kids tubing. Think I've talked myself into the latter just writing this, but wanted the wisdom of the group to weigh in on it. Thx in advance!

IMHO enjoy your 60 and 20 ft boat. Adding a third log and 40 hp will not show much if any return. Save for a bigger boat later and go to a 24-25 tritoon with strakes and at least a 150 hp to do it justice.

Now take that and $2.00 and get you some coffee.

Does your manufacture offer a pony tube? (3/4 length tube that fits in front of the original motor pod) I know Bennington and Premier both do and I know for sure that Premier also will give you an uprated capacity plate if you purchase the 3rd tube through them and have a dealer install it. 60hp will suffice for beginner tubers but after 2-3 year they will want to get FLUNG so at minimum you would want to go to a 115 and preferably a 150 to really be able to toss riders around. As for gas a 115 or 150 will get the same "mileage" as a 60hp at the same speeds and possibly better mileage running at your current ~20mph top speed since they won't be running WOT

RcgTexas wrote:IMHO enjoy your 60 and 20 ft boat. Adding a third log and 40 hp will not show much if any return. Save for a bigger boat later and go to a 24-25 tritoon with strakes and at least a 150 hp to do it justice.

Now take that and $2.00 and get you some coffee.

+1 22-24' tritoons just handle crowds so much better, and they're very seaworthy. Putting a 3rd toon on a 20' boat would really not replace the need for a larger boat.